THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT ON US AND SOVIET FORCES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81B00401R002300150011-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 2, 2003
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: September 17, 1980
• Content Type: MF

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17 September 1980
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, National Foreign Assessment Cente
C'..1-
SUBJECT: The President's Report on US and Soviet Forces
1. In beginning our work for the second edition of the
joint PR with the Department of Defense, I have become aware of
several problems which I think should be brought to the DCI's
attention before his meeting with Secretary Brown this week. I
believe that Secretary Brown will raise some of these issues at
that meeting if we do not initiate a discussion of the matter
first.
2. There appear to be two groups in the Department of
Defense that are trying to influence and, to some extent, control
the presentation of material in the Report. Some ideas from both
groups are being discussed at the OSD level. The first group,
which is apparently represented by Ambassador Komer, believes we
should include information in every section on all our Allies and
those of the Soviets if it is to reflect the balance of forces
accurately. Captain Pease, the DoD coordinator for the report,
and I have repeatedly stated that this cannot be done and that
such an addition would raise additional questions by some in DoD
concerning the use of the Report for assessments. We have made
one exception in the joint Report (and previously in the Soviet-
only Report); that is, we include non-US and non-Soviet Warsaw
Pact forces in the Central Europe section. We did this because
the Report tries to cover those forces considered in arms control
negotiations, and MBFR and TNF negotiations affect those forces
in Central Europe. To accommodate Ambassador Komer's concerns
that we should include other forces as well, we agreed to
incorporate a number of qualifying statements in the preface. We
also moved the preface to the first page--rather than the inside
cover--where it was prominently placed by itself. We may hear
more about this matter in the second edition.
3. The second group still wants to kill the Report and has
now raised the issue that the book may be misused f
assessments--much the same arguments from the same people in DoD
who are involved in the NIE controversy. To accommodate this
group in the first edition, I agreed to incorporate additional
qualifying statements in the preface. I have repeatedly refused
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to accept the suggestion that the title of the book read, "The
President's Handbook on US and Soviet Forces", because I think
such a title would detract from the prestige of the Report and
would sound somewhat insulting to the President.
4. In this second edition, I have asked that three new
sections be added to the book. Two of them -- Early Warning and
Satellite Defense -- have been accepted within the Department of
Defense and have not been brought to the attention of Secretary
Brown. The third new section -- Theater Forces in _. the_ Eat EAa Y_,
-- is acceptable at the working level within the Department of
Defense. It is, however, being presented to Secretary Brown for
a decision because some who resisted the Central Europe section
in the first edition now are concerned that sections such as
these are "setting the stage for assessments." They appear to be
concerned that such an addition "will enhance the Re ort
it of even more value to theolicvmaker." The new section would
include the Sino-Soviet border area -- the only part' of the
Soviet-only book not yet included in the joint report. This
section was originally requested by President Ford in 1976, and
it has been one of the sections in the Soviet-only book that has
generated the most interest. The inclusion of this section in
the joint PR would eliminate any substantive consideration for
continuing the publication of the Soviet-only book (the
distribution is the same). Furthermore, if we expanded the
section to cover US and Soviet forces in the Far East, I think it
would be most helpful as a reference to the President. Captain
Pease and I are considering the following forces in this section:
US Forces Only
In Japan
Korea
Okinawa
Phillippines
Thailand
7th Fleet in area
7th Air Force in area
Soviet Forces Only
In Sino-Soviet border area
Northeastern USSR
Kurils
Vietnam
Naval air & infantry in area
Naval forces in area
5. Secretary Brown may bring this section up for discussion
with the DCI. He is apparently getting conflicting advice on
whether to agree to the inclusion of this section, and the DCI
may be the persuading factor. It probably would be particularly
helpful if the DCI:
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. stated that the inclusion of such a section would help
in eliminatingthe need (which is costly in terms of
time, material, and effort) to continue producing the
Soviet-only book*;
stated that the Sino-Soviet Border section generated
considerable interest in the past and is likely to be
asked for anyway; and
. stated that he had no intention of letting this
document present material in a way that could be used
for assessments.
Secretary Brown may suggest to the DCI that the Sino-Soviet
Border section be placed in the joint PR as a Soviet-only pane
with no comparable US data. I would recommend that we do not
accept this suggestion as we are trying to keep the book to
presentations that include both US and Soviet forces.
STAT
STATINTL
Chief
USSR-EE Branch, SR/RA
*I have told Captain Pease that the Soviet-only book will not be
published this fall and that its status is in a hold position
until we determine if the joint PR will be published regularly.
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Approved For Release 2004/01/20 : CIA-RDP81B00401 R002300150011-2